I Taught Again! Well, kind of.

So, I slept through another class. I am the kind of person who gets extremely anxious and sad when I miss a class, and the fact that I missed my second time teaching made it even worse. Here is what I would have taught, here is all you need to know about the freedom rides.

Freedom Rides

-1961 Freedom Riders were groups of white and African American civil rights activists who participated in Freedom Rides to test the 1946 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Morgan v. Virginia

-found segregated bus seating was unconstitutional

-Bus trips through the American South in 1961 to protest segregated bus terminals.

-Freedom Riders tried to use “whites-only” restrooms and lunch counters at bus stations in Alabama, South Carolina and other Southern states.

-The groups were arrested by police officers and experienced horrific violence from white protestors.

Things Get Violent

On May 14, 1961, the Greyhound bus was the first to arrive in Anniston, Alabama. There, an angry mob of about 200 white people surrounded the bus, causing the driver to continue past the bus station.

The mob then followed the bus in cars, and when the tires on the bus blew out, someone threw a bomb into the bus. The Freedom Riders were able to escape the bus as it burst into flames, only to be brutally beaten by members of the surrounding mob.

Result of Freedom Rides

The Riders were successful. They convinced the Federal Government to enforce laws that integrated interstate travel. All of the violence and arrests of the Freedom Riders got national and even international attention. From this, hundreds of new members felt the need to join the riders and to support the cause.